Mistakes that will cost you a fortune on aliexpress is a guide on how to shop on aliexpress securely without being scammed. AliExpress is a legitimate online marketplace where sellers meet buyers to exchange values. Read this post religiously and you can start shopping on AliExpress safely.
Our aim on BuyQuality is to ensure you have smooth shopping experience on AliExpress and today’s post is about the common mistakes we have observed and see people, especially newbies, make on AliExpress. If you have any helpful thoughts or observations that you want to add to this post, please share your thoughts or mistakes in comments under this post.
MISTAKES THAT WILL COST YOU A FORTUNE ON ALIEXPRESS
These are the mistakes that will cost you a fortune on AliExpress.
ACKNOWLEDGING GOODS ON ALIEXPRESS BEFORE YOU REALLY RECEIVE IT
This is the most common mistakes people make on AliExpress. This is a big NO deal when buying on AliExpress. In this case, never ever confirm any good as delivered before you really have it and you are satisfied with it.
AliExpress will ask you at least 2 times if you are absolutely sure confirming receipt of goods in your email. Be careful on what button are you clicking. Why is that a problem? When you confirm that you have received your order from the seller, you do not have an opportunity again to open a dispute and therefore you do not get your money back if the product is fake or not as describe by a seller.
Suggested Reading: BEST BUDGET PHONES ON ALIEXPRESS
Think about this mistake in future purchases. Only confirm goods delivered after you take delivery and completely satisfied with what you received. Just like you will not pay Konga or Jumia dispatch if the goods are not what you’re expecting so also is confirming delivery on AliExpress.
YOU DO NOT PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO BUYER’S PROTECTION PERIOD
This is also a common mistake many shoppers/buyers on AliExpress don’t realize until it’s very late. AliExpress Buyers Protection period is in place to PROTECT YOU and your money when you shop on AliExpress.
Every transaction done on AliExpress has a buyer protection period in which you can seek a refund if the product you bought wasn’t delivered or you’re not completely satisfied within the protection period.
Also if your product shipment is delayed ask the seller for extension of this protection period. Also if the tracking code the seller supplied isn’t working ask him/her for extension of protection period. Also as a rule of thumb, any product that takes longer than 3 weeks to arrive in Nigeria should be canceled except if Nigeria Postal Service is on strike or something else happen in Nigeria that delayed your order.
MULTIPLE ORDERS FROM DIFFERENT SELLERS
Personally, I will recommend you buy a limited number of products at once and if possible from a single seller instead of using multiple sellers for different goods. Why? Because tracking all orders becomes simple and you will get everything under control.
Also if the seller uses China Post or Hong Kong Post to ship your goods, the postal service in Nigeria will charge you per package received.
So instead of paying for multiple packages at the post office in Nigeria, if you bought your items from a single seller, you only need to pay for just a single package.
ALIEXPRESS SELLER RATINGS
Customer feedback’s are the general rating of a seller on AliExpress and should include communication with seller, the speed of delivery, satisfaction with the goods and others. You should describe your experience with the seller and the products you received in your feedback once your transaction is complete. No situation should change your mind afterward but many newbies make the biggest mistake in here?
Some sellers will try to convince you to change the rating from bad to good in his/her store by trying to offer you some incentives like sending you some money back to your PayPal account or some discount on your next purchase with them.
Suggested Reading: BEST FASHION DEALS FOR WOMEN ON ALIEXPRESS
If you fall for the trick, you might have to live with regrets for the bad decision because you will not have an opportunity to defend yourself again if the seller default in his/her promises to you.
CHECKOUT TOTAL AMOUNT
Before making any payment always check the total amount on your screen. You still have a chance to cancel the order or discuss with the seller about the final price.
Pay undivided attention to the final amount at checkout to prevent unpleasant surprise when the debit hit your account after payment.
It can happen that when you’re searching for goods with free shipping but the seller you selected doesn’t ship such items to Nigeria for free, so shipping fee can be included with your order at checkout. This is a little fact people usually see too late and then you have to spend time on canceling the order, refunding, checking refund and then reordering goods again from other sellers who ship to Nigeria free.
DON’T DESTROY EVIDENCE
Did your package arrive damaged? Did you get only half of the goods? All this can be solved, but everybody needs a proof. In the case of damaged goods, you need photos and videos. For a smaller quantity of goods in a package, the weight is always indicated on the envelope, so do not throw it away until you have a photo as proof. All this will help you to easily and quickly resolve any of your AliExpress disputes. Don’t forget about it!
FILLING ALIEXPRESS FORM INCORRECTLY
When making your orders on AliExpress you should have enough time, be quiet and really pay close attention to what you click and what you fill in the forms. This will save your time and remove future stress. If it happens, that you complete something wrong – like choosing the wrong colour or size or did not write the correct address – do not panic and do not cancel all orders immediately. Contact the seller, explain the situation and give him/her the right information.
Suggested Reading: BEST WIG SELLERS ON ALIEXPRESS
It might happen, that the seller suggests you cancel the order and create new order again. Anyway, this is not very common. However, if you don’t contact the seller before he/she ship your products, you will receive the wrong items or your order delivered to the wrong address as stated in your form.
NEVER CLOSE A DISPUTE UNTIL IT’S RESOLVED
When a seller sends you a wrong package or fake product, the best thing to do immediately before your protection period expires is to open a dispute for a refund. However, some sellers will try to persuade you to close the dispute that they will return the money after a dispute is closed. It is a big mistake because the dispute will close itself when the seller sends you the money. In most cases, the seller doesn`t send you anything and you don`t have a chance to reopen dispute once closed.
NEVER ALLOW ANY SELLER TO MANIPULATE YOU
Do not let any seller on AliExpress manipulate you. If your order is delayed or the tracking number isn’t working, don’t let the seller talk you into waiting for the arrival of the package which will simply not arrive because the seller never ships it. Some seller will try to manipulate you because they want your protection period to expire so you can lose the power to seek a refund.
So, which of these mistakes or errors are familiar to you? I hope you find this summary of common mistakes a little help in making your shopping experience on AliExpress smooth.
TRACK YOUR ALIEXPRESS ORDERS
Always ensure you track the movement of your orders on AliExpress. When the seller shipped your order the tracking number is made available in under your “My Order” tab. Copy the tracking number and use 17Track to monitor where your order is, when it get there etc.
Also note that not all orders are trackable on AliExpress. If you buy a low value product and the seller shipped your order using unregistered post like China Post Ordinary Small Packet Plus you wouldn’t be able to track or monitor your order movement outside China.
Suggested Reading: CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON – HERE IS THE BEST SOLUTION!
Tracking number supplied for orders shipped using unregistered post only works in China, once your product is shipped out of China, you can see anything again until your order get to your doorstep or the nearest post office to your registered address.
Never allow your “Buyer’s Protection” period expired before you take delivery of your order, you can asked for extension of buyer’s protection is you haven’t receive your order and your opportunity to ask for a refund is about to expired.
ASKING FOR REFUND
This is for our Nigeria audience, before you make payment using your Naira debit card, ensure you do your due diligence before making payment for your order.
The exchange rate charged into to your account by your bank when you are making payment differs from the exchange rate used when you asked for refund.
You would be charged more when you are making payment and be refunded less while you are collecting your refund from AliExpress.
AliExpress will refund exactly what you paid for the order but your bank would probably use a lower exchange rate when they credit your account with the refund.
So before you use your Naira card for foreign currency transaction, be mindful of the exchange rate used by your bank.
CLICK HERE TO SHOP ON ALIEXPRESS NOW
FrenchGirl
Hi !
I would like to share my experience and maybe you could get me some advice..
After at least 50 orders without any serious problems, I encountered one these months..
– In seller’s conditions section (about buyer protection) seller has 30 days to deliver.
– On 1st of October : I ordered a dress from a seller, at 58€ (~$60)
– Seller shipped it on 9th of October.
– On 10th of October : Tracking number is good and status parcel is “Departure from origin Country to France”
– On 24th of October : I contact seller to ask for further information about this strange unchanged status since 14 days. Seller answered that “package hast left airport in China, please be patient”, as usual..
– On 31th of Ocotber : I informed seller that it left only 5 days until end of protection and track status did not changed. No answer.
– On 3rd of November : I “up” seller. He answered that, in fact, “logistic business is now in state of explosive warehouse resulting in logisitc delay”.. Charabia. Nicely, I extend protection and delivery date, on my own, by 10days. (It should left on 5th of November). Seller accepted.
– On 15th of November (last day!) : Track status has not changed.. Still blocked since 10th of October. I opened a dispute and I asked for full refund. Instead of sending a message or responding to dispute, seller extend buyer protection by 10days ! Without MY consent. I have though that it is cheating ! Ihave informed seller that I am not a bot and he could talk to me instead of cheating on his own commitments (30days) and I can’t accept to wait 10 days more after I already accept the exactly same thing before.. On my own.
– On 19th of October : some hours before dispute ends.. I send another message to seller, because I’m not a robber, to let a last chance to seller to explain.. Seller asked me to wait 5 days more and make a proposal to dispute “Refund only : 0€”… Due to his response on dispute I should wait 3 days more instead of 3 hours to get my money back
– On 22th of November : parcel status does not changed.. Still blocked.. (This airplane really needs a GPS..) Ali’s judgement done : Full refund.
– On 30th of November : parcel delivered ! OMG.. I contact Ali because I felt guilty.. Ali said to me that I am not obliged to refund and if I would to anyway I can but not thanks to Alipay
– On 1st of December : Seller asked me to return dress or give him money.. I let it down
– On 20th of December : Seller threated me to send his “brothers” to come at my home to force me to get dress back because “he knows my address..” WTH ? He is currently continuid to threat me and to force me to pay. He proposes to buy dress again and he will send a symbolic gift to me instead of dress in parcel.. But, dress is now at 5€ more and there are now shipping charges of 6€. He is definitly not a good seller..
No
Jesus Christ that’s is one hell of a story
Soylent Green
This is theft, plain and simple! If I we’re you I would set up a paypal account and send the seller his hard earned money.
Alex
How the F do you contact the retarded mediators that make you ship back a malfunctioning product with the shipping cost 3 times bigger than the actual broken product. How smart do you have to be to ask for something like that?
Morenikeji
Pls can somebody help me
I ordered something from Ali Express then I mistakenly confirmed receiving it but my main question now is that will I be able to still collect it
Because the status of the good is showing finished.
Pls somebody should help me
Flo
Hi
I need help, I’m new in Ali express, I bought my items on Ali express and paid for express shipping with DHL which will take approximately 7 days, but till now the seller has not shipped my items. I did this transaction in 4th August and it should take like 12 days for processing and 7 days for shipping but it is one month now and At first he gave me a wrong tracking number, after opening a dispute, he gave me another tracking number which is correct and working this time but when I called DHL to know about my items, they told me my items has not been in their warehouse that is only the paperwork, they have not received my items. Is still in China. and now the sellers has rejected my dispute giving me a proposal saying the item has been shipped and Ali express wants me to accept or reject but I don’t know what to do and today is the deadline, I don’t want to be scam, please helped.
Should I accept or Reject the Seller Proposal? Please Help me
Patrick Akinwale
Hi Flo,
Please do not “ACCEPT” the seller’s proposal, doing so will cost you your money paid for the product & shipping.
Kindly reject the proposal immediately and escalate the issue to AliExpress Customer Care that the seller is actually fraudulent.
NEVER EVER accept seller’s proposal until your order is delivered to you.